


This Magic Moment

by Babettefanfic51



Category: Man of Steel (2013), Real Person Fiction
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Fairies, First Kiss, Princes & Princesses, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-20 18:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1520681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babettefanfic51/pseuds/Babettefanfic51
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU: Prince Charles and Princess Giselle have been ’engaged’ since childhood.  After meeting briefly in their early teens, they didn’t hit it off at all.  They both decide (unbeknownst to the other), they would run away the night before their wedding!</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Magic Moment

  
[ ](http://s190.photobucket.com/user/babettew54/media/0d8bd196-6c96-4319-b41b-fe7918db234d_zpsab17a70c.jpg.html)   


_This Magic Moment_

_Prince Charles' family estate:_

_"_ It's not a love match!" Prince Charles shouted at his Father for the tenth time in so many minutes.

His Father, the King, sighed yet again. The match was set in stone; there was no way around it. "Son, I understand how you feel. It was the same for your Mother and me. Shouting about it won't change what you were born to do … marry Princess Giselle."

"Father, I won't marry her. I won't do it!" He shuddered at the idea. Just the thought of marrying that tall, gangling thing made his skin crawl. She wasn't ugly per se, but she certainly wasn't what he would call the marrying kind. He'd heard the rumors about her: wild, untamed, arrogant, and full of pride. Those 'attributes' were certainly evident when he'd met her that brief weekend over ten years ago.

King Edward was at his wits end. The wedding was set for tomorrow afternoon. "Charles, maybe she's changed." The King had also met the Princess that weekend, and she was different from the cultured and well-spoken young ladies he was used to at court, but that didn't mean that she was still the same. She was not a grown woman at the time. Charles should remember that.

Charles was thoughtful. "Was there some reason why she didn't come to the ball last weekend? I mean, I had hoped to at least see her again, and make up my mind about her?"

"She was visiting relatives and couldn't get away," his Father replied being evasive.

Charles frowned. "You're not telling me something. What is it?"

Edward sighed. "She doesn't want to marry you either."

"What?" Charles was stunned. "What possible reason could she have for not wanting to marry me? I'm a Prince, for god's sake."

"And she's a princess; look, Charles, it's obvious that your mother and I and her parents, as well, have not handled this situation very well. The Princess is not happy and neither are you." He stared at his son, so tall, handsome, and a bit of a snob, but he was a gentleman. He came closer. "I'm sorry, but tomorrow afternoon, you and Princess Giselle will be husband and wife, and you'll have to make the most of it."

Charles closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to calm down. "I will tell you this. If I ever have children, I will never put them through this. It's archaic, uncalled for and I hate it."

"Do you hate me?" Edward asked and waited.

"No, Father, I don't hate you, not at all," he whispered sincerely. He loved his Father dearly, but he had no choice now. "I'll see you at the wedding."

"Goodnight, Son."

"Goodnight, Father."

~o~o~

 _Princess Giselle's family estate_ :

Giselle was walking and wringing her hands. Her mother was in her room hoping to convince her that marrying the Prince was not a death sentence.

"Sweetie, I know this is hard for you, but tomorrow you will marry the Prince," her mother told her sternly.

Giselle stopped pacing and stared at her mother. Over the past ten years, she had done her best to be the Princess her mother wanted her to be, but it was just not in her to be subservient, obedient and ignorant of the world. She loved so many things, and she felt that she would be caged like a bird unable to be herself. She wanted to fall on the bed and cry her eyes out, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. "Mother, I don't know him, let alone, love him. Marriage is for two people who are in love."

"In the real world, maybe, but for us, we don't have that luxury. This marriage was set when you were born and that's that."

Giselle had to know. "Do you love my Father?" Giselle had never asked that question; she didn't really need to. It was clear to her that they were in love.

"You know I do," she replied.

"From the first moment you met?"

"No, it wasn't love at first sight, if that's what you're asking. We met under very different circumstances. I knew of him and he knew of me. We met on a fox hunt."

Giselle grinned. "Yes, I remember. Father told me about it years ago, but I never heard it from you." She climbed into bed and her Mother came over to her. "Tell me."

She sat down and began her story. "Well, he was quite handsome in his riding clothes, top hat, red jacket, black riding pants, and high boots, but it was his temperament that drew me to him. He didn't enjoy the hunt; not at all. Once the fox was caught, he took off galloping, and I, the foolish and smitten young lady, followed him."

"And then what happened?" Giselle knew what was coming.

"Well, he realized that he was being followed and galloped even faster, and the race was on. I caught up with him pretty easily. My Father's horses were known for their speed. He finally pulled up, stopped and stared at me, and I couldn't look anywhere else but his face."

"Was that the moment?" Giselle eagerly asked.

"Well, he was definitely intrigued, but to be honest, yes, I believe it was," Elise finally replied a bit wistfully.

Sighing heavily, Giselle leaned back and pulled a pillow to a chest. "I want that so much."

Elise smoothed and stroked her hair. "You have to give it a chance. Maybe he's changed from ten years ago. He's grown up and …" She hesitated.

"And what …?" Giselle asked, hoping for a miracle.

Her mother was quiet; too quiet. Giselle felt utterly defeated. Her eyes watered. "It's not going to happen for me; is it?"

Her baby's tears broke her heart. "I'm sorry sweetie, but you will marry him tomorrow." She stroked her hair again. "Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, Mother."

The following morning, when both their parents checked up on their children, they were both gone. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were determined not to get married and ran away … and so, the search began.

~o~o~

Prince Charles had planned his escape, even before the ball. When she didn't even have the courtesy to show up, he made his plans.

He galloped through the woods and hours upon hours later, he came upon a cabin. It would do nicely. He knew of this place. It was located near a beautiful lake. This place was rumored to be magical. Fairies and other magical beings were known to have been seen there.

He had decided to stay away for a week, just to scare his parents into calling off the wedding so he could at least get to know his future bride. That's the least they could do under the circumstances. He knew it was cruel, but he was desperate man.

Shaking his head at his fanciful thoughts about fairies and his parent's concern for him, he tethered his horse, gathered his belongings, and made his way inside, but when he entered, he realized that someone must have been there before.

Now, who would leave a cabin with the fire already lit and roaring in the fireplace? That wasn't a very smart thing to do. But it was warm and cozy and whoever had set the fire, had to return soon. Feeling leery of this unknown person, he pulled out his sword just in case it was an enemy of his kingdom, and so he waited.

Princess Giselle, on horseback, loaded down with branches for the fire, saw the horse and immediately became suspicious and truly worried.

What if this person was an enemy of her family? What if he wanted to hurt her? Now she was rethinking her decision to run away into the forest alone and unprotected, but she had made a decision and she couldn't go running back home. She had to stick it out, no matter the consequences.

Prince Charles heard the horse approach. His sword was at the ready. He cautiously stood just to the right of the door and waited, sword held high over his head ready to pounce.

Princess Giselle tethered her horse and pulled out her sword. She rarely held it in defense of herself, only during her many playful jests with her brothers, but she knew how to handle herself. Maybe if this person knew that she wasn't going to hurt them, maybe they could talk this out instead of fighting.

"HELLO!" Giselle called out.

"It's a woman!" Charles whispered, relieved. "HELLO!"

"It's a man!" Giselle whispered, still worried.

The door opened rather suddenly and unexpectedly. Giselle raised her sword again. Charles did the same.

They both stopped, swords still held high above their heads then they stared at each other.

Moments went by. Their swords were lowered slowly, neither saying a word. It was difficult to breathe.

He blinked then Charles spoke first. "Who are you? Where did you come from? What's your name?"

"Whoa, whoa; I should be asking you those questions. This is my cabin!" She stated firmly, stormed inside and stomped around trying to prove her point.

He shook his head. She looked and sounded very familiar. "Are you looking for something?"

He looked familiar to her too then she spotted something that confirmed her suspicions. The emblem on his sword sheath explained everything. "It's you!"

He stared at her closely … the wild head of red hair, the sparkling blue eyes, the stubborn chin, and her lips just waiting for him to ... "It's you!"

"Charles!?" She was stunned, thrilled, excited and pissed off. "You stood me up at my wedding?! I can't believe this!"

Instead of joining her in anger, he wanted to laugh out loud. This entire situation was hilarious if it wasn't so depressing and utterly absurd. His shoulders were shaking but only a little.

She caught his look then she pressed her lips together to hold in a laugh.

And then the laughing started and minutes later they were wiping at their eyes. "I guess we showed them, huh?" She whispered with a sigh. His laughter was thoroughly enchanting.

"I suppose we did, but …" He sighed heavily. "It doesn't change anything."

It was true; she was still engaged to a man she didn't even know. She put the sword sheath down, and decided to change the subject. "This place … is it truly magical?" She walked through the living area, purposefully ignoring the bed.

His heart was beating at some strange rhythm and he wondered at it. "Yeah, I … I truly don't know."

Giselle believed in magic, hope and love. Life wasn't worth living without those things. "Do you believe in magic?" She watched him closely for an answer. Please say yes, she thought.

"Well, we all need something to believe in and magic is one of those things that gives us hope for things outside of ourselves … things we have no control over … " He walked over to her, and continued …."Things like love and …"

"And …?" She prompted, needing desperately to hear it.

He was standing directly in front of her. He took her hand. "Things like this." He raised it to his lips and kissed her hand.

Giselle closed her eyes for a moment. "Charles?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you want to marry me?"

He grinned, but didn't let go of her hand. "You didn't want to marry me either."

She grinned as well, then she remembered. "I just … I just hated the idea of being forced to marry someone I didn't love. It was as simple as that."

"Me too; it was that simple."

He dropped her hand when she pulled away and went to stand by the fireplace. "We need more wood."

"I'll get it," he said and left the cabin.

Giselle closed her eyes and thought of her Mother's story. It was a beginning, not love at first sight, but she didn't know about love, only her parents and her brothers knew of her love for them. But what she was feeling right now had nothing to do with what she felt for them.

She remembered meeting him for the first time. She liked him, but instead of accepting that, she rebelled against those feelings, acting out, and he fell for it; she was very convincing. She didn't want to act out anymore. They were adults and this was a turning point for them. Smiling; she had made up her mind. She would tell him how she felt.

"What's that smile about?" He asked, looking up at her. When she didn't answer him, he straightened the wood with a fire poker. "That should keep us warm at least for the night." He glanced at her and she was still grinning at him.

He stood up. "Are you going to tell me?"

"Oh, I was thinking about the first time we met."

"Don't remind me."

"It wasn't that bad," she said still grinning.

"Oh it was bad. I couldn't get a word in with you, you were always mad about something and wanting to leave and I just wanted to get to know you."

"Really? Well, if I remember, you didn't really want to be there. You flirted with other girls, and you ignored me half the time and …"

"That's not true. I wasn't flirting. Those girls were your friends. We talked about you nothing else."

She believed him. "Really?"

His face softened. "Really."

"Oh, Charles, we weren't ready, but now…"

He came closer. "Now?"

"I've had a change of heart."

Thrilled, he whispered, "Truly?"

She took his hand. "Truly."

Feeling bold and so very sure of this, he pulled her close and kissed her. Her arms reached up and pulled him closer and kissed him back. His hands roamed over her curves feeling the firm softness of her body. He stopped and pulled away and stroked her cheek.

"That was so nice," he whispered.

"I know. I never dreamed."

He frowned and turned toward the sound. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I did; what was that?"

He took her hand and headed to the door and opened it. It was a fairy, a beautiful, blue fairy hovering outside.

They both gasped, shocked and confused.

"My work is done," the fairy whispered.

"Is this happening?" Giselle whispered stunned.

"It is happening, and now it is up to you to go after what you really want," the fairy explained.

Smiling, they turned to each other. He took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

The fairy disappeared.

~o~o~

 _A month later, the cabin, their wedding night_ :

Before opening the door to the cabin, he picked her up and moved inside.

Giselle gasped at the beautifully decorated cabin. "Oh, Charles, it's beautiful."

He set her down and pulled her close, and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, loving him so much that it felt like pain sometimes. After a minute, she whispered, "I love you, my husband."

Smiling, he whispered, "I love you, my wife."

She had to smile at being back in the cabin again. She turned from him and walked over to their marriage bed. "You know Charles, when I came here, the entire time I was thinking about you."

"You never told me that. I thought you hated me."

"No, I didn't know enough to hate you, but I blamed you for everything, not our parents."

"Our parents had no choice, and I understand that now."

"Charles, I don't want our children to ever feel our pain."

He came over to her and took her hands in his. "Being royalty, and being a future queen or king, we may not have a choice either."

"But …"

He pulled her close. "Don't think about it." He pulled away after a minute, then smoothed and stroked her hair. "Love is unpredictable and we don't know the future."

"That's true, so I'll try not to dwell on it too much."

"Good, because tonight, let's dwell on other things; shall we?"

"Indeed we shall!"

_The end!_

~o~o~

Song Inspiration: _So This is Love_ , Ilene Woods (Cinderella Song).

A/N: Awwwwww! I loved writing this so much. I can't tell you how much Man of Steel has inspired me to write, from that first trailer back in December 2012, and it's still inspiring me. I love them so much. Tell me what you thin _k._ Thanks for reading everyone! Reviews/kudos is love.


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